DILG orders PNP: Tighten security around Lapid gunman
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of the Interior and Local Government has ordered the Philippine National Police to tighten security measures to ensure the safety of Joel Escorial, the confessed gunman of radio journalist Percy Lapid.
This comes after Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla disclosed on Thursday that the supposed middleman who arranged the killing of Lapid from inside the national penitentiary died on October 18.
"I am instructing the PNP to tighten surveillance on Joel Escorial after the incident with his contacts in Bilibid. Let's ensure his safety because he is the key to solving this case," said Abalos in a statement sent to reporters Friday.
Abalos said the death of the middleman may be a roadblock to the development and possible quick resolution of the high-profile case. But he said an autopsy of the middleman, identified by Remulla as Jun Villamor who also goes by Crisanto Villamor, is now being conducted.
"We are very sorry for what happened...We only offered a reward on Day 1 and almost every day Task Force Lapid really worked hard to back-track it until we tracked down this gunman. It has really been hard work on the part of our PNP," he said in mixed Filipino and English. "If we find out that there was foul play here...those behind it should be held accountable."
READ: BuCor chief suspended as questions linger on 'middleman' in Lapid slay
On October 18 morning, Abalos presented Escorial to the media following an extensive investigation of the PNP leading to the arrest of the suspect. A bounty of P6.5-million was also circulated to the public to whoever will point to the location of the killer.
Villamor, according to the Bureau of Corrections, was rushed to the New Bilibid Prison Hospital at around 1:30 p.m. and was pronounced dead some 30 minutes later. Villamor was identified in a DOJ briefer as the one who promised to pay them P550,000.
Abalos said that incident will only motivate the DILG and PNP to work harder to ensure the murder case’s resolution and bring justice to the family of Percy Lapid.
Police Col. Kirby John Brion Kraft, chief of the Southern Police District, said in the same statement that the two alleged middlemen, before the said incident, were both secured in the National Bilibid Prison and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.
"If you remember, our gunman said there were six people who worked on this murder, there were two middlemen who contacted them, one of them was here at the BJMP. Let's take care of that to find out what really happened to the person who died," Kraft said in Filipino.
The Department of Justice has said that Escorial may enter the government's witness protection program if he discloses the mastermind behind the murder.
As it stands, Police Col. Restituto Arcangel, the head of the Special Investigation Task Group assigned to take on the case, confirmed earlier that Escorial's family is also under the PNP's protection. — Franco Luna with reports from Kristine Joy Patag
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